Jobs in the UK automotive supply chain are expected to grow in the tens of thousands by 2017, according to KPMG.
John Leech, KPMG’s UKhead of automotive, said: “UK car production in January 2014 was flat but recent launches of cars made in Britain such as the Nissan Qashqai, BMW Mini and Range Rover Sport bode well for the UK industry. The SMMT forecasts that vehicle production will grow from 1.5 million in 2013 to over 2.0 million in 2017.
“A key question vexing the industry and government is whether this will percolate down into jobs growth in Britain’s 2,000 supply chain companies.In the 1990s and 2000s the UK automotive supply chain was ravaged and the proportion of parts sourced from UK suppliers dropped to as low as 35 per cent.
“Eighteen months ago, the Automotive Council highlighted that there was £3 billion of unfulfilled opportunity for UK suppliers, which has undoubtedly increased substantially since then.
“This has prompted recent investments from companies such as GKN, TRW, Lear, Borg Warner and Nifco raising optimism that the proportion of parts sourced from UK suppliers is likely to rise above 40 per cent by 2017.The increase in supply should translate into jobs growth measured in the tens of thousands by 2017,” said Leech.
“We are seeing a substantial upsurge of interest by potential investors in the UK automotive supply chain the like of which we haven’t seen for several decades.”
